OLYPHANT — A 23-year-old man jumped off a second-story roof to escape a burning home Thursday night, neighbors said.

After receiving an initial call about 7:30 p.m. that a young girl was still inside the burning three-story house, firefighters scrambled to find her while battling the blaze at 108 Elm St., borough Fire Chief Dave Tully said.

After about 45 minutes, the Fire Department had the flames under control, and the girl, 12-year-old Carlie Smith, returned with her father, Eddie Smith, from a trip to the store, neighbors said.

Before firefighters arrived, the girl’s brother, Justin Smith, climbed out a second-floor window onto the roof and had a brief exchange with across-the-street neighbor Dave Krushinski, asking him what to do.

“Jump,” his neighbor said.

“He told me to catch him,” said Mr. Krushinski, 32.

Justin Smith went to Geisinger Community Medical Center with a broken arm and facial injuries, his sister said. He was in fair condition later Thursday night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Despite the amount of time a squad of firefighters spent inside the burning house to search for the girl, no one else was injured in the blaze, Chief Tully said, other than suffering some heat exhaustion.

Before firefighters arrived, another neighbor, 50-year-old Kathleen Norton, said she smelled smoke from the house across the street and sent her husband over to investigate.

“He opened the front door and it was just engulfed,” she said.

Trees and power lines surrounding the house made it difficult for responders to enter and use tall ladders extending from the trucks. Instead, they used shorter ground ladders to enter windows.

An hour after the initial call, firefighters were still inside, tearing up the home and looking for flames within the walls and attic.

The chief did not know if the house was a total loss, saying only it’s “all boogered up inside.”

The cause is under investigation.

Contact the writer:

pcameron@timesshamrock.com,

@pcameronTT on Twitter

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